1. Field of the Disclosure
This application is generally related to software system product line support, particularly towards systems and methods for handling client customization requests.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, the online analytics space has gone through rapid changes. For example, online marketing analytics, is a method by which companies track their services or products on the internet to determine various marketing statistics regarding their customers to develop more effective methods to market their products or services. Initially, most analytics solutions were delivered using an Enterprise Software model. The Enterprise Software model was large and cumbersome, characterized by large acquisition and installation costs. At this point in time at least 70% of these first generation solutions were delivered using the Enterprise Software model. Using this model, only simple web server log file analyses were performed; essentially these system counted web server events and produced simple reports. Given that it was not clear what to measure, this model was suitable for a period of time even though it was not clear what business value was being gained.
The ensuing years required software providers to dramatically reduce costs while at the same time deliver demonstrable business value without significant customer investment or commitment. Beginning in late 2000, there was a shift in which, the solutions offered in this space were provided using the Application Service Provider (hereinafter, ‘ASP’) software model. Soon, the Enterprise Software model became antiquated driving the price required by software providers to dramatically decrease while requiring software providers to deliver a demonstrable business value without significant customer commitment. Using the ASP software model, costs were dramatically reduced while the capabilities of the solutions became much more complex and focused on business value where clear and measurable results could be shown.
While the above transformation was taking place, the demand for both a wholly out-sourced, lower cost, increased capability, and individually tailored solution became a primary requirement of customers in the online analytics space. Given the rapidly changing markets, each client company has unique reporting and analytic application requirements to become and remain competitive. Depending upon a company's organizational structure, variables such as product or service characteristics, enterprise data, and post-production activities need to be addressed by providing a degree of client customization that has not been previously addressed.
Present systems can provide a modicum of client customization. The present systems are capable of categorizing clients into major categories. Large numbers of customers are grouped together by industry segments. However, these systems are not capable of suitable client customization. Moreover, the present systems are cumbersome, having many hardware and software components. The present systems, because they are cumbersome are not capable of providing quick response client customization without client disruption or client down time. These systems resolve variations at system build time.
There exists a need for a software model and system that can provide a high degree of client customization and that allows for variation resolution in real time or near real time.